Fish oil, does anyone give it to their child?

[Ladymai]

I read this article about giving children fish oil to improve concentration/behaviour and was wondering if anyone had anymore info on it.

I know about omega 3, I just need to know if I can give it to my 15mth old son as he has started having tantrums for no reason, well mainly when he doesn't get his own way, and he flits from one thing to another - toys.

Does it calm them down or is it a load of old hype? When he's not having tantrums he's great fun to be with.

I have been giving it to my children and haven't noticed any great difference. I was hoping it would help DD concentrate but she still daydreams.

I used to give my son fish oils, for about 18 months. There wasn't any improvement in his behaviour or concentration.

What you describe is fairly normal behaviour for that age imho and while fish oils may help, they may not fundamentally change that. Our ds is older and has apparent issues so we can more easily monitor the difference. You'd need to choose one specifically for his age so look a carefully at the labels, as many are recommended only from 3 or 12 years .

I give my 3y/o DS fish oils and I think it has worked wonders!!!!
His speech and concentration got better, and he was calmer and well behaved - he used to be rowdy and wouln't sit still for 5 minutes!!!
I use the Haliborange fish oil.
HTH

LIZS thanks for that. DS is first son so I've got nothing to go on, I just wasn't expecting tantrums at this age. I suppose he's frustrated at not being able to do things and when he's not allowed doesn't yet understand the reason why not.

I'll leave it a while, couple of years might do!

definitely not hype - ds (14) has noticed the difference with his concentration at school, always had problems. There have been many studies, notably the Durham trial, (sorry no link). I take it myself, as it helps enormously with organisational skills and any attention deficit type problems. If I'd known about this years ago I'd have given it to my two a lot earlier. Many benefits - I swear by it

I give ds flax seed oil as the fish oil has too much other stuff in which because of his allergies I can't risk. Some of the fish oils have aspartame in - which leads to memory loss - so you do have to be careful.

He also has a diet free from preservatives, colourings (even some "natural" one like cochineal) and MSG.

However I am a pre school music teacher and have done a lot of sequencing work with ds - which may be why he is a tantrum free zone.

Threebob - pardon my ignorance but what's sequencing work?

aspartame also carcinogenic. the only thing Eye-Q has is glycerin, so not suitable for vegetarians, but otherwise additive free, expensive but worth it.

I would agree with LIZS though, I'm not sure if they would help tamtrums, because these are normal for an inquisitive tot who is learning the ways of the world! Don't know though, you may find that they help him concentrate more on the things he enjoys and be less frustrated. In my experience, the more curious and independent the child, the bigger the tantrum. you have my sypmathy!

Just putting things into a sequence so putting on undies may be.

Lie undies on floor
Sit down with legs out
Put left leg through a hole
Put right leg through other hole
Pull up to knees
Stand up
Pull up over bottom

Each part of the sequence is supported, can be with a picture, or an action or a line of a song. So the undies song went,

Undies on the floor x2 la, la, la, la la la la.
Sit on the floor x2 la, la etc.

Breaking things up into chunks and turning into a fun activity cuts tantrums, because the frustration of not understanding something is removed.

However having the extra Omega could help with the concentration to do all the parts of the song...

I have given fish oil from 3 months, but it hasn't stopped any tantrums I'm afraid. Very healthy it is though!